Neither Yang nor an attorney representing Yang appeared for the civil trial. Yang is currently serving two life sentences in prison for the Oct. 4, 2007 murder.

Attorneys working with the Reuter family acknowledge that while it may be unlikely that Yang will be able to pay the full $40 million in damages, they will try to obtain what they can, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

Attorneys also said that the civil case was less about the money and more about acknowledging the true value of the life of Rhoni Reuter.